“We’ll talk when you get back here.”
Dex resisted the urge to slam his hands against the steering wheel as frustration tightened his chest and started a throb behind his eyes.
Chapter 18
Pinpricks of pain against her stomach and a plaintive yowl finally woke Kate. She slowly opened one eye and wished she hadn’t, as the midday sun poured in through the window and into her face.
After she had said goodbye to Dex this morning, she had forgotten to close the blinds before falling back into bed.
Her entire body was pleasantly sore and had that well-used feeling. But she could easily go back to sleep for another eight hours or so, if the exhaustion weighing her down was any indication.
Rusty continued to knead her stomach with his claws, reminding her he wanted attention. She needed to check his water and litter box before she moved on to other concerns. But first, she had to get out of bed.
Right now that task seemed as difficult as climbing Mount Everest. Dex had pushed her body to new heights of pleasure in several different ways over the last couple of days, and all of that hard-earned bliss had taken its toll. Although she could never regret it.
She slowly rolled over onto her side, a baby step toward getting out of bed, earning an annoyed yowl from Rusty.
Dex’s masculine scent teased her nose, and she couldn’t help the large smile that curved across her whisker-burned face. She reached up to touch the abraded skin, but that only brought another smile.
Memories of the last two days flooded back, and she buried her face against the sheets, breathing deeply to imprint as much of his smell on her mind as she could.
Rusty head-butted her shoulder, and she reached around him to hug and pet him. “I’m coming, buddy. I’m sorry.”
When she finally made it to a sitting position on the edge of the bed, she admitted she wouldn’t get far without a shower.
She fumbled for her phone on the nightstand, disappointed to see no messages from Dex but four emails from Merestone, and one from another client. She scanned them briefly and sighed at the full day of work ahead of her. She still had three projects from Merestone that she hadn’t finished this morning, although they had said she had until the end of tomorrow to complete those.
She would have to order out for Chinese food and get to work as soon as she got out of the shower.
She glanced down at her trusty companion. She’d get to work after she made sure Rusty was squared away. Some things were definitely more important than work.
She wondered if after leaving here, Dex had gone home and fallen back into bed like she had. It wasn’t as if either of them had gotten very much sleep last night.
Warmth filled her chest and the wide smile was back, stretching her tender cheeks and chin.
It was probably a very good thing she didn’t know where Dex was staying, or she would be tempted to go and see if she could talk herself into his bed.
Her instinctive denial over appearing so needy began to rise, and she shoved it aside with a laugh. For Dex, she might risk being thought of as weak if it meant sleeping next to him for the day, and maybe waking for another night of amazing sex.
She shook her head at her musings. “Get moving, Kate,” she admonished herself as she set Rusty gently on the floor.
“Come on, buddy. Let’s get you taken care of, and then I promise I’ll make it up to you as soon as I get out of the shower.”
—
Dex paced Brent Weston’s office at Club Desire. After fighting L.A. rush-hour traffic for two hours, and then driving for six hours straight following a night of very little sleep, he’d had enough of sitting for a while.
“Dex, you’re going to wear a hole in my carpet.”
He glanced up to meet Brent’s amused gaze.
Brent was his longtime friend and the founder of Club Desire. Brent had met Jason Tanner last year when Brent’s new wife, Sandra, had nearly been murdered by a serial killer who preyed on women in the fetish lifestyle.
“Sorry, Brent. I’ve been sitting all day. Just trying to get the blood moving again.”
Brent raised one dark brow and pinned him with the deep blue gaze that all the women raved about. “From your general look of happy exhaustion, I’d say your blood should be moving just fine, but I could be wrong.” Brent’s smug smile showed he knew he was right.
“Since you know me too well for me to get away with a lie anyway, I won’t even bother. How much did Jason tell you?”
The sound of the elevator doors opening behind him made Dex turn. Even though he had been around from the time the foundation for Club Desire was being laid, it always made him laugh that Brent had designed one of the secure elevators to open straight into his office on the fourth floor.
Jason Tanner stepped off the elevator, followed closely by Jake, Club Desire’s main manager and security specialist.
Dex greeted each man in turn, shaking hands with them.